The cat wasn’t yet named Tom. The mouse wasn’t yet named Jerry. And the cat-and-mouse chase storyline wasn’t intended to be followed by a series of cartoons featuring the both of ’em.

But Tom has to pretend to hate Jerry in order to protect so Tom’s owner doesn’t replace him with a cat that actually wants to ...

This one is tricky, because the presence of Tom and Jerry is SO dominant in any discussion about a cat and mouse cartoon ... and when you add in the double meaning of “tomcat,” it just made ...